Jumped
by IntergalacticVigilante
Summary: Ava and Maggie's day don't go quite as planned. One-shot. (tw: drowning)


_**AN: **this one's a little out there, and it's very early in the morning, but hopefully you enjoy the first story i've actually finished on this website_

Jumped

"Ava, come on!" Maggie Lacivi urged her small friend on. They were taking a hike through the woods that were near their housing units, one of the few on the entire planet. There weren't many trees there, but Maggie felt solace in the few. Maggie's hair fell in green tendrils over her eyes as she turned to face Ava, who was sitting quietly on the ground, staring blankly ahead of her, arms folded over her knees.

"Ava?" Maggie's wide grin slipped from her face as she approached her friend cautiously. "Come on! Do you want to get to the lake today or not?"

Ava's eyes were wide, with a strange tint that looked red and seemed to grow brighter with every second. Small tremors shook her body. Maggie reached out to touch her and pulled back immediately. Her skin was warm, growing hotter. Maggie wondered if she was sick. She hooked Ava's arm in hers and gritted her teeth as she tried to pull her up to her feet.

Ava yanked her arm away and Maggie stumbled back, tripping and falling on her backside.

"Let go of me, you bitchy freak," Ava said in a voice that had traces of her own, but was intertwined with that of someone older and unearthly. Maggie stayed still, mouth agape.

She struggled to speak. "Ava-"

"Shut up," Ava said, smiling broadly and unsettlingly. "I don't need you getting in the way." Ava paced in a circle around Maggie, as if she were her prey. "Although..." Ava leaned in close to her and breathed in her face, piercing Maggie's eyes with her own. "There's something..." Ava lingered for a few moments. With a small huff, she turned her back on Maggie and began to walk away from her, and toward the lake. "Oh well, I hope you enjoyed your time with this stubborn brat."

Maggie struggled to her feet, trembling with confusion and anger. Mostly anger. Or maybe...fear. Maggie's loud brashness drove most close to her age away, and Ava was the only one who had bothered to stick around. She was Maggie's only friend. Maggie could turn around now and get help, or she could stay here with her and help her through whatever was happening right now. This was not like the quiet Ava she knew. This had to stop.

"Hey-" she jogged up to Ava, who was now breaking into a run towards the rapidly approaching lake.

Ava reached the lake's edge and stood there, still shaking, but strangely, erratically, not like before. It looked to Maggie that she was trying to jump out of her skin. Maggie tried to approach her quietly, and listened as Ava muttered to herself under her breath.

"Last chance, this is your last chance or I'm going to end it now. I don't even know why I bother with you, of course it was you of all beings...Are you going to do it? As soon as I can get away from you the better." Ava shook her head as she spoke, like she was trying to get herself to stop talking.

"Well then, I wish I could say it's been fun...I never have been fond of water."

Ava jumped into the lake.

Maggie felt like she was frozen in time. Could Ava swim? Maggie didn't think she could. Where were the guards? Why was this happening? Was Ava trying to hurt herself? Judging by what she had heard Ava say, she was trying to do worse than hurt herself.

Maggie jumped into the lake.

Submerged, Maggie could faintly see a warm glow, and reached out toward it. Grasping something solid, she pulled as hard as she could and tried to make her way back to land. Ava pulled back, although she was growing weaker with every tug. Eventually stopped entirely, her glow starting to fade, and Maggie was able to pull the two of them up back along the lake's edge.

Maggie gasped for air, and let go of Ava on the grass. She seemed incredibly fragile without the heat that possessed her before.

How could Maggie wake Ava up? In the back of her mind a memory resurfaced, and Maggie clasped her hands together and pressed them to Ava's rib cage with as much force as she had left.

Ava sputtered out water, and slowly began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open, and she dazedly looked up at Maggie.

Maggie slammed into the ground. She clutched her cheek, where Ava had slapped her.

"I hate you." Ava's voice was raspy, still not completely free of its strange new qualities. She coughed, and her eyes faded back from red, displaying a caramelized stare of fear and pain. She looked at Maggie again, and gasped a little when she saw the mark on her face.

"Maggie, did-"

Maggie was on her feet, backing away slowly. "Don't touch me," she said, her voice quivering.

"Maggie, I'm sorry, please-"

"Don't." Maggie turned and ran, away from the lake, away from the forest, away from Ava. As she ran, she thought she heard small sobs coming from behind.


End file.
